I Need You
by alyells
Summary: Lily Evans hates James Potter. Really, she does! He's an arrogant, self-assured, self-centered prat! But that doesn't stop her from loving him. LE/JP


Lily Evans was sitting underneath a large oak tree on the ground of Hogwarts, a book open in her lap and the sun beating down on her pretty face. Her red hair was shimmering in the light, her green eyes sparkling with desire. She was reading a Muggle romance novel; her favourite thing to read. Sometimes, she longed for a tall man with dark hair and eyes to come and sweep her off her feet. She turned a page with one hand, and tossed an apple up and down with the other.

Completely absorbed in her book, Lily didn't hear the rowdy bunch of boys come out of the school and make their way to where she was sitting. When she tossed her apple into the air for the hundredth time, it didn't come back down. She squinted up into the sunlight to see who had snatched it, and a face swam before her; black, windswept hair, gorgeous dark eyes, a slightly arrogant grin on his face, and…Her apple in his hand!

'Potter!' she growled, folding down the corner of her page in the book and clambering to her feet. Standing perfectly straight, he was still a good four inches taller than her. She glared at him, and he laughed. 'Give me my apple back!'

'What apple?' he said, hiding it behind his back.

'The one you're hiding behind your back,' she said bitterly. 'Give it here.'

He tossed the apple as she came towards him; his wingman, Sirius Black, caught it easily in his left hand. He barked a laugh and James grinned at him. Lily turned to Sirius, and the apple flew over her head, back to Potter.

They continued to play keep-away, and she could do nothing but will the apple to fall to the ground. She wasn't the sportiest, after all. She turned back and forth between the two boys, and they grinned and laughed, running further and further apart from each other. James' expertise kept the apple in the air, and his good aim kept Sirius in play. She pulled her wand out of the pocket of her school robes and held it tightly.

'Give it here, or I'll hex you until you're beyond recognition,' she said menacingly. The grins faded off both of the boy's faces; Lily was good with a wand.

'Don't get your knickers in a knot, Evans,' James said, forcing casualty into his voice, and taking out his own wand. His buddies Remus, looking concerned, Sirius, looking defensive, and Peter, looking ready to wet himself, stood behind James.

'The only thing that's going to be in a knot around here is _you_,' she said angrily. 'Just give it back.'

'Not until you say the magic word,' James said, bringing the apple to his lips and preparing to take a bite.

'What word would that be?' Lily asked in a mock-innocent voice. 'Would you like to be flipped upside down in the air for everyone to see, like you did to Sev the other day, or would you prefer bodily harm? Maybe a nice, clean shaved head? I know you're rather fond of your hair, Potter.'

'At least it's a normal colour,' James taunted, breathing on the apple and cleaning it in his robes. 'Kind of like this apple, don't you think?' He held the apple up near her head, and even Lily was surprised to see that they were nearly identical in colour.

'Whatever,' she said lamely. 'I could still out-jinx you in a heartbeat.'

Sirius laughed from behind James. 'That's true, mate.'

'Shut up, Padfoot,' he said lightly, throwing the apple at him. This time, Sirius wasn't so quick to catch it; it fell at his feet, and he gave it a kick. The apple rolled across the lush green lawn and stopped in front of Lily. She picked it up.

'Oh, bollocks,' she said, examining it; it was now badly bruised on one side, and covered in dirt. 'Thanks for ruining my lunch, you bloody prat.' She glared at the lot of them.

'Any time, Evans,' James smiled at her. She felt her breath catch in her chest, and she mentally scolded herself. _'Don't let him dazzle you, Lily. He's a jerk, not attractive at all._' She glared harder, but couldn't help being transfixed by the way his hair caught the sunlight. He ran a hand through it carelessly and turned to face his buddies.

'Prat,' she called at him again, and whipped around, her long red hair catching up seconds later. She hated him; she hated all of them. They made her feel like a whining, irritating child sometimes. She wished she could show them! But the way James smiled at her, the way his eyes twinkled devilishly from under the fringe of his dark, handsome black hair…She couldn't help but wonder…

She stormed back to her tree, pulled her book off the ground and settled back into a much less comfortable position. Angry tears began to burn in her eyes as she opened the romance novel to her marked page; _Damn that James Potter and his vile friends! Awful people, _she thought.

"…_As she watched, his dark hair ruffled in the wind. He approached her, his lips so sensual, his eyes so daring, and she lost her breath again. Feeling like a silly school girl, she took a few tiny steps and closed the gap between them. Then, with a cry of sheer joy, she flung her arms around his strong neck, and he his around her small waist, lifting her off her feet. He kissed her, then, and fireworks exploded between them. It was magic…"_

She closed the book, far too angry to read any more, and sat and fumed under the tree that James so adored. _I do hate him,_ she told herself. _I do._

*

Later that evening, as the sun was beginning to set, Lily went back inside the castle. She put a hand gingerly to her cheek; it was burning hot and she felt awfully dizzy. She stumbled slightly and continued to walk. Just as she got to the bottom step, she felt her knees give out from underneath her. Loosing her balance, she tripped and felt her head collide with the bottom stair…

'Evans,' asked a boy's voice. 'Evans, are you okay?'

Lily blinked furiously, and when she opened her eyes to look around, her vision was blurry. She peered up at the face hovering over her for the second time that day; _oh crap, not Potter. Anyone but Potter, _she thought. But, it was just her luck; James Potter's face came into focus with a few more blinks.

She tried to sit up, and her head spun. She whimpered and James came closer to her bed, grabbing a hold of her hand. She flinched but did not pull away; it was comforting to have someone close.

'Where am I, anyway,' she asked, when the room stopped moving in circles. He sat on the edge of the mattress, making in creak loudly under his weight.

'The hospital wing,' he stated matter-of-factly. She looked around, slowly this time; clean, white, dark and tidy, the hospital wing was the perfect picture of sanitation. No lights were coming from the matron's office, so Lily figured she was asleep. She looked around, and even though it was nearly pitch black, she noticed they were all alone.

Looking to the bedside table at her left, she noticed a large basket full of many round…somethings. 'Where's my wand,' she asked James. He grabbed it off the table and passed it to her. '_Lumos_,' she muttered, and the wand tip shone brightly, illuminating the basket of apples! All shiny red and perfect, they glinted in her wand light. She smiled.

'Are they from you,' she muttered, turning slightly red.

'Yup,' he said, grinning. 'I figured you deserved them after the hell I put you through today.'

'Gee, thanks,' said Lily sarcastically, fighting with the bubble of happiness that was rising in her chest.

'No problem,' James said, reaching across and pushing a piece of hair behind her ear. She felt a hot flush rise in her neck, and muttered '_Nox'. _The light from her wand was extinguished. She felt less self conscious in the dark.

'So how did I end up here, anyway,' Lily asked him, trying desperately for a change in subject. 'And why are _you _here,' she added, forcing some bite into her voice.

'Well, I came across you on the stairs on my way to dinner, and I _thought _about leaving you there, but my chivalrous nature took over and I carried you up all by my lonesome,' he said arrogantly, grinning even wider than before.

Lily was impressed. 'Really?'

'Well, no, I needed some help; you're kind of heavy,' he said smugly, 'but the rest is true.'

She let out an irritated breath, 'I was unconscious, so of course I was heavy!'

'Yeah, I know, I'm just kidding, Evans,' he said, pushing her lightly on the shoulder. She fell back into her pillows.

'Oi, head injury over here,' she said, but they both laughed anyway.

When the laughter stopped, they sat in silence. In side her head, a silent battle was taking place. She couldn't decide who she hated more at that moment; him, for making her want him so bad, or herself, for wanting him. He sighed deeply, and they both jumped slightly when a light flicked on in the matron's office. She placed a hand to her head and groaned; even that little movement made her ache.

The matron, Madam Wilkins, bustled out in her dressing gown, her wand tip illuminating her way. She looked extremely cross; apparently, their laughter had woken her up. She stopped abruptly at the foot of Lily's bed.

'Miss Evans,' she said angrily, shining her wand light directly in Lily's eyes. The bright light made her head hurt more. 'You should be resting, not laughing like a hyena that just swallowed a Ticking Potion! And Mr Potter, shouldn't you be in your _dormitory?_' She glared down that them, and James jumped off of the bed.

'I was just about to leave, Madam Wilkins,' he said innocently, winking at Lily. She smirked and covered her face with her hands.

'Well, you best be getting to it,' she said sharply, and hurried back into her office, closing the door with a sharp_ click_ behind her.

'I s'pose I should get going,' he said with a sigh.

'Thanks for the apples,' said Lily, pulling the bed sheets up to her chin and settling more comfortably into the pillows. She felt her eyes start to droop almost immediately, and he moved away closer to her.

'Anything you need?' he asked, leaning down so his face nearly touched hers. He brushed her hair off of her face and placed his lips gently, briefly, on her cheek. Then, he moved away towards the door.

'Nope,' she muttered, and as he closed the door, she closed her eyes. 'Just you.'


End file.
